T

he commissioners of the antigraft agency faced a barrage of questions from lawmakers during a hearing on Tuesday in the latest episode of a tug-of-war between the two institutions.

Lawmakers of the House of Representatives Commission III overseeing legal affairs grilled five commissioners of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) over the latter’s performances in the fight against graft.

As the commissioners had presented the report of their work performance and planning a day earlier, the lawmakers scrutinized more than what was brought to the table in a heated follow-up hearing on Tuesday.

Masinton Pasaribu of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) slammed the antigraft body regarding comments made by commissioner Laode Muhammad Syarif on the recent Constitutional Court ruling supporting the House’s controversial inquiry into the antigraft body. “The KPK is [an institution that] implements the law, not interprets it. Therefore it doesn’t have the right to make an assessment regarding the court’s ruling,” Masinton said during Tuesday’s hearing.

The ruling last week rejected a request filed by KPK employees to invalidate the House’s right to launch an inquiry into the agency deemed to undermine the power of the KPK. Soon after the court read its ruling on Feb. 8, Laode, who attended the hearing at the court, said the KPK leaders were disappointed with the ruling since it showed the inconsistency of the court. The court had issued a previous ruling in 2006 asserting the KPK’s position as an independent law enforcement institution. It contrasted with the latest ruling, which concluded that the KPK was part of the executive branch and therefore its performance was subject to the House’s inquiry.

Masinton added, echoing a comment from lawmaker Muslim Ayub from the National Mandate Party (PAN), that the commissioner had also made unnecessary comments regarding the House’s new authority as stipulated in the revision of the Legislative Institutions Law, also known as the MD3 Law, passed at a plenary session on Monday.

The revised law allows the House Ethics Council to take legal action against individuals, groups of people and legal entities that “disrespect the dignity” of the House as an institution and the lawmakers themselves, which had been lambasted by the public given the House’s poor legislative performance.

Moreover, Golkar Party lawmaker Agun Gunandjar warned the commissioners that they should not make any comments or meddle in other issues unrelated to the fight against graft.

“It’s not necessary for the KPK to dominate every minor thing, such as [petty] cases and comments on every issue.”

Masinton and Agun have been among the KPK’s loudest critics given their role in the House’s inquiry team.

Responding to the criticism, Laode asserted his opinion that he believed the added articles in the revised MD3 Law were related to efforts to hamper the KPK’s authority in investigating graft cases.

When Masinton pressed further by accusing him of having yet to read the law, he mumbled: “No sir, I have read the law.”

Eventually, Laode responded calmly: “Thank you for your comments. I have written them down.”

The agency’s chairman Agus Rahardjo, meanwhile, said in a hearing on Monday that the KPK had set its sights on graft cases implicating politicians that had dominated cases handled by the KPK. Such rampant practices stemmed from public officials failing to understand the ethical code, poor recruitment, party restructuring and a lack of financial accountability.

He also mentioned that the agency urged political parties in the country to improve themselves especially regarding political funding.

The hearing on Tuesday eventually ended after reaching five conclusions, including the House’s Commission III ordering KPK commissioners to respect and implement the court’s ruling on the House inquiry committee that asserted the antigraft body’s position [as part of the executive branch].”

Tuesday’s hearing might have been a prelude to the reading of the inquiry committee’s recommendations on the antigraft body during a plenary session scheduled for Wednesday.